Lady Odette

Her recent form tells an interesting story. Those back-to-back fifth-place finishes were followed by a third and then a second, which looked like genuine progress — a horse finding her rhythm and moving in the right direction. Then the wheels came off slightly, with a thirteenth and a tenth in her last two runs. That kind of regression after promising form is frustrating, and it raises a fair question about what level suits her best. She has done all her racing at Class 5, the entry-level tier of British racing, and has drawn a blank in all five races at that grade. For a horse showing flashes of ability, that is a puzzle worth solving.

McCreery's yard is no small operation — 21 winners on the board this season alone — so Lady Odette is getting professional care and patient handling. With a race just yesterday, the team are clearly keeping her active and looking for opportunities. The trick now is finding a race where the conditions click into place. She has the placing form to suggest she belongs, and a yard with that kind of firepower behind her is well-placed to find the right spot. Whether she can translate "nearly" into "finally" is the question everyone around her will be hoping to answer soon.